Boat Rental damage collection

[alpinelodge]

Our business rents boat to guest staying at our resort/marina.
The standard "you are responsible for any damage" contract agreement is signed by the renter prior to taking the boat. The person took the boat an filled it with gas three times at another location without putting any oil in it. The boat ran out of oil and ruined the engine. The repair cost is approx $5000 to $7000. The renter is still staying as a guest at our property. How do I collect the damages from them. I have spoke with them and they obviously are not going to volunteer to pay the bill. What do I do next?
Thanks David Polk

 

[PellMell]

If they are not willing to pay voluntarily, you will likely have to sue.

 

[mightymoose]

I would not pay you either.
If the boat lost that much oil while it was being used for the day it was most certainly a preexisting leak. Maintaining the oil level and repairing any leaks is part of regular preventative maintenance that is the responsibility of the owner.
Your renter did not cause any damage to the boat. Bad maintenance damaged your boat.

I don't mean to sound rude. That is just the mechanic in me speaking. Unless you think you can prove your renter pulled the drain plug for the oil, you won't get far trying to get them to pay up.

 

[PellMell]

My response assumes that the renter was negligent. If the loss of oil is attributable to bad maintenance, as mightymoose suggests, I wouldn't pay either. When I read the initial post, I assumed that you were referring to an engine for which you have to mix oil and gas.

 

[alpinelodge]

They went through 150 gallons of gas without putting any oil in the reservor. We didn't put the gas in, they did it at another location on the lake. No oil was added when the gas was filled. There were no leaks in the oil. When you fill up the gas you have to fill up the oil, they didnt. We require them to bring it back to us for fill up. They didn't. The boat can go more than one fill up but not three. There was nothing I could do to prevent it. They had the boat for the full day.

 

[army judge]

Unless the renter agrees to pay, you'd have to sue him.

And, if he resides in another state, suing him would be almost impossible.

You'd have to obtain jurisdiction over him in another state using "long arm statutes" which isn't an easy or inexpensive task.

I suggest you speak to a lawyer about revising the liability language of your rental contracts.

Then you need to rewrite the care of your boat admonishment, if you even have one.

Beyond all of that, I don't see how you can hold the renter liable for the damage, unless you specifically trained or instructed him/her on the care of the boat.

Then you'd have to have his/her acknowledgement of understanding and acceptance of responsibility for the boat, ensuring it covers this specific occurrence.




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[alpinelodge]

Thankyou so much. I figured we would have to take our lumps. I have to figure out a better way for next time. What do you think about this.
I thought about a credit card damage deposit up front and refunded when they turn the boat in. But they could ultimately refuse or contest the charge.

What about making them buy a second party insurance. Similar to what a car rental company does. That way if the wreck it the insurance pays that tab.

Thanks again for your opinions all of them..the busines we are in is sometimes a little messy.

 

[mightymoose]

You wouldn't be able to get a large enough deposit to cover damage for that amount. Nobody would pay more than a couple hundred bucks at best... the deposit would be a headache for you.

What kind of boat is this? Why does it take so much oil if it is not leaking? If I rented a boat I wouldn't even think to check the oil. I would expect it to be in good working order. My only concern would be to make sure it had a full tank when I returned it.

Do you explain to your customers that they must refill the oil and do you show them how to do it?

As you describe the problem here, your standard "you are responsible for all damage" language really is not good enough. What you are describing sounds like something that is beyond standard care that the average person won't likely know without being given specific instruction.